Chest wall resection---alloplastic replacement

In a retrospective study of 302 patients, who were operated on in our centre between 12/85 and 9/87, 25 patients required a chest wall resection. The most frequent indication (11 times) was an infiltration of the thoracic wall by bronchial carcinoma. 8 times we resected a primary rib tumour, in rarer cases a thoracic wall resection was required for mesothelioma, echinococcus alveolaris and tuberculoma. In 10 patients the defect was too small to require a patch. Initially we applied Marlex-mesh and Vicryl-mesh to cover the defects. In our last 10 cases GORE-TEX-2 mm-patch was used. The technical ease of the method, the mechanical stability and durability, the tightness for air and fluid and the positive tissue response speaks for the continued application of this material. Additional methods such as myocutaneous flaps are not necessary and should only be used in complex defects.